Biomedical Engineering Society

My involvement in the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) began my first year as a biomedical engineer and has continued every since. I first served as a 2nd year class representative at UVA and later served as Treasurer and then Vice President of the UVA BMES student chapter. As Treasurer I gained experience applying to grants and accumulated over $1,000 for student conference reimbursement. As Vice President I planned chapter events at UVA and facilitated a mentorship program.

At VT, my involvement in BMES has continued. I served the graduate student chapter as Secretary my first year and as President my second year. The VT BMES student chapter is extremely involved in the Blacksburg and New River Valley community with outreach at The Big Event, The Virginia Tech Science Festival, and The Blue Ridge Highlands Regional Science Fair. The chapter is joint with Wake Forest University and helps bridge the gap between the two campuses and foster communication and collaboration among various research groups. The VT-WFU BMES student chapter is responsible for organizing the annual School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences (SBES) Symposium which allows graduate students to present their research to their peers and to meet with industry representatives.

Alpha Omega Epsilon

Alpha Omega Epsilon (AΩE) is a professional and social sorority for engineers. I am now an alumna. I previously had the honor of serving the UVA chapter as Vice President. As VP, I managed the committee chairs and planned chapter events. My previous experience as committee chair for community service and Day Away prepared me for the leadership role. As community service chair I organized nursing home volleyball and donations for the local animal shelter. I also co-planned Day Away, an overnight retreat, for around 100 sisters, gaining experience with budgeting and scheduling activities for a large group.

Ladies in the Lab

Inspired by our Network-Building Entrepreneurs class, a friend and I started Ladies in the Lab (LITL) at UVA in 2015. The annual event was designed as an interactive showcase of women in STEM, a day for middle and high school girls to visit the UVA Engineering grounds and participate in hands-on exhibits hosted by female engineers from UVA, the Charlottesville community, industry, and government. We hoped to inspire the next generation of female engineers by connecting young minds in the community with our network of STEM ladies at UVA. Ladies in the Lab provided an opportunity for the many STEM groups on grounds, including BMES, AΩE, Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Women in Computing Science (WiCS), to come together. In addition, representatives from the local Tech-Girls, NASA, and Capital One supported the event. We had over 50 female engineers and around 100 middle and high school girls in attendance our first year. The free showcase was possible after raising over $2,000 in funds. Given the success of LITL 2015, we continued the event the next year. Although I have graduated from UVA, I am happy to say the tradition continues. The AΩE philanthropy committee has done a wonderful job with Ladies in the Lab 2017, 2018, and 2019. Stay tuned for 2020!

Raven Society

I was honored to join the Raven Society at UVA in 2016. “Founded in 1904, The Raven Society is the oldest and most prestigious honorary society at the University of Virginia. It is also unique to the University, taking its name in honor of the most famous poem of the University’s most famous poet, Edgar Allan Poe.”